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Jeric Arcastrian
Jeric Arcastrian is a player character in The Escapists campaign. He is an assassin and a mage who uses arcane magic. Under the alias "Exitus", he is a renowned assassin in Erradan. Jeric often works alongside his criminal companions, Catalyst and Evelyn Munroe. Physical Description Jeric is pale skinned, tall and slender with bright blue hair, brushed into a quiff. His eyes match his hair, though his left eye is artificial and housed in a bronze casing that takes up the area around his eye. His features are otherwise angular, with a thin, pointed nose and sharp jawline. His outfit when working as Exitus is a tailored swallowtail coat, waistcoat, shirt, trousers and boots, as well as his signature mask. His clothes are woven with a strong, flexible material which disperses the force of impacts across the whole garment, with more reinforced areas covering his vitals. The jacket is dark grey, with silver patterns lining the edges of the jacket at the front, across the lapels and around the collar with two 'tails' at the bottom. Additionally, beneath the collar is a small hood which he can unfold to cover the remainder of his head to preserve his anonymity. The waistcoat is similarly embroidered and the outfit maintains the same dark grey colouration. The mask is the most distinctive element of his equipment. Two hooded visors over his eyes allow him to see, emitting a soft green glow due to the vision-enhancing magic used in its creation. There is a protruding grilled section in the middle over his nose and mouth, allowing him to breathe and subtly distorts his voice when he speaks. When not in his Exitus gear, Jeric favours slim-fitted formal clothes, often jackets both long and short, though in warmer weather he may elect to wear a waistcoat and shirt without the accompanying jacket. He favours blues, purples, greys and white, typically with golden trim or embroidery. Personality Jeric is a solitary man, preferring his own company and usually works alone. Unless it is expedient for him to do so, he will not work with others. He developed a belief that he is the only person he can rely on, and does not easily trust others to complete a task that he could perform himself. This attitude distances himself from would-be friends. Allies of convenience are acceptable to him, but he leaves little room for friendship or sentiment, as it is likely that they will only let him down. His scope for interest in others is limiting as well. Jeric only respects people who have a similar drive to himself when it comes to providing for themselves. He only has time for the capable and strong-willed. Jeric has complete faith in himself and his abilities. He recognises that he is not the greatest at anything - Yet, but he believes that he will receive recognition for his skills when the time comes. He is singularly dedicated to improving himself in all regards, because only through self-improvement can he obtain the fame that he desires. If he is not actively working towards something, then he becomes irritable. Downtime serves no purpose except to allow him to prepare for his next battle. Jeric's view to life is that all strive towards their own ends, and any regard towards others is simply self-serving. He has determined that altruism does not truly exist, and that there are always ulterior motives even in the most seemingly pure of individuals. He does however, believe that there is a purpose to concepts such as loyalty and fraternity - A form of enlightened self-interest. It is beneficial to make agreements to work in harmony as it can further your own goals. By adhering to a set of conditions set about by a group, one can better ensure one's safety and potentially expect the group's protection and aid in times of need. This belief is balanced by the contrasting belief that strength must come from one's own self, and that over-reliance on the strength of the group to protect you will inevitably lead to death or failure. With regard to his assassinations, Jeric views them as necessary for his own advancement. Given that to his mind, all are selfish, there is nothing philosophically wrong with him murdering others in order to further himself. Even if not all have the strength of mind, body or will to kill, they would find other ways to push him aside to pursue their own causes. The only main exception to this is children, as to his view they have not had sufficient time to understand the essential nature of the world, and in the majority of cases lack the capability to significantly affect individuals. So long as he can maintain the appearance of being a conforming part of the wider group known as society in order to avoid their collective wrath being brought down upon him, then he will continue to advance himself in whatever manner is the most effective in the moment. That is not to say, that he takes no pride or satisfaction from his work. Despite their grim nature, Jeric is the most alive when he pushes the boundaries of the law and gets away with it. An efficient job is a testament to his ruthless efficiency, an imperfect success demonstrates his skill and quick thinking. Failure is unacceptable. This attitude has resulted in inextricably tying his life and purpose to his work. He enjoys finery and comfort, but his life currently has no final objective. He does not consider a future where he is no longer an assassin, partly due to his quiet admittance that he may die in the course of one of his jobs. The other reason is a sense of self-importance. Jeric currently lives an extraordinary life which not many can follow, and fewer can reach the levels of proficiency he aims for. He does not care for an ordinary life. In his mind, simply getting a job and settling down would only make him as dull and purposeless as the average man or woman of Coryphiel. A line of work where he wagers his life against those of his targets for the fate of an organisation, a company or even a country is the only life suited for him. Despite seemingly attempting to reject his own humanity for the sake of possessing a singular focus, Jeric does feel the call of emotion and sentiment, and he retains some interests from before he became the man he is today deep down. In particular, he has always loved the sky and the stars. He has never forgotten seeing the world from the heights of the Grand Academy, with an infinite horizon spread out around him as the sun rose and fell, with the moon and stars to take its place. Even now on a clear night he will take a moment to look. Jeric also considers himself an amateur wine connoisseur after enjoying the bottles available at home. Finally, he possesses a curious mind, and enjoys learning small bits of magical knowledge especially. All of this is hidden behind a dry and sarcastic sense of humour and a veneer of coldness and detachment. Quietly, Jeric respects loyalty to a cause and loyalty to others, despite his profession often leading to temporary arrangements which may conflict with jobs past and future. Though he is loathe to admit it and tries to ignore it, Jeric would like to belong somewhere after living in a family that had precious little to do with him as he got older and leaving the city he came from with the few friends he had. However, with his prevailing attitude towards other people he is incapable of truly forming the necessary bonds to do so. Background Jeric was born to Irdris Arcastrian and his wife, Illiana. Two years later, his brother Kyras was born. Jeric’s fondest memories of his father were early ones, the evenings where he would run eagerly to his father’s office and show off the small bits of magic he had practiced. Idris would help his oldest son with learning magic even before he went to school, giving them a much needed ground for bonding, but he struggled to find time for his youngest. The family as a whole struggled, with the adults trying to balance the needs of their children with their hectic outside lives. Jeric often looked after Kyras in his parents’ absence when he was older. Idris was at first overjoyed with his second son, but reality began to sink in only a few months later as the money began to run low. The Arcastrians still had artefacts from old Haven and some good furniture, which he and Iliana quietly sold off to afford a good life. The maths didn’t lie though – Something had to give. Any sensible person or family might have considered taking the blow to their pride and downsizing. For Idris, this was unacceptable. Even despite the huge blow it would be the Arcastrian’s famous pride, he couldn’t let his sons live a worse life than he had. He would find another way – There was no other choice. Unknown to Jeric, his father had found a way. Over time, something began to consume his parents' lives. They became more distant from their children as they worked furiously to earn enough to be able to support their lifestyle and the Arcastrian pride. While not outright ignoring their children, it would be accurate to say that they did only a little above the bare minimum required to be somewhat decent parents. However, the work paid off dividends. With the assistance of unknown allies they were able to place the Arcastrian family on the path back to greatness, with Idris as High Magister of the Arcane and Illiana pushing for a political career. In school Jeric was quiet and dedicated, following after his parents’ dedication to work. He possesses this trait to this day. He was not the most social, but he made loose friendships with some of the other harder working students. In magic school, he thrived more. Because of Idris’ early teaching, he knew some of the basics and found learning easier than the others. Initially this was met with admiration which turned steadily into envy and hate, and a young Jeric would struggle with people bullying him for being ‘too clever’. He tried the official channels, appealing to teachers, but this didn’t work. After approaching his parents, he learned a lesson that would carry with him – Sometimes in life, you had to hurt people who were in your way. The next person who bothered him, he punched and found himself left alone. That suited him fine. He left magic schooling competent and focused. He went as soon as possible at 10 and finished at 14 leaving 2 years before he could go to the Academy. During that time, his parents gave him a great deal of freedom. He chose to pursue some further studies into the Weird under a private tutor, finding that this part of Arcane magic called to him more so than others. He also did some work around New Haven, earning a little money for himself which he stored away for future use. Occasionally he would treat himself with it, but the remainder was scurried away. The Grand Academy would normally have been where his talent as a Mage advanced to its fullest. However, it was not to be. By now, Jeric had caught on to the unusual behaviours of his parents and he was aware of the news. He knew Idris would disappear to do something some nights, sometimes accompanied by his mother but sometimes not. He wanted to know what was going on. Tracking them one night revealed them visiting Alaric Starfall, although he would never know exactly whose place it was. Afterwards, he observed a runner leaving for the Rift. He followed, and it became clear to him that his family was embroiled into a conspiracy. That runner ordered the death of someone from a criminal organisation of some sort. Shocked as he was at first, he knew he had to go deeper. He had to find out who his parents were working for, and why. First, he asked his parents to help him move out to get the independence that he would need. They allowed it, believing that he was smart enough to be fine independently, promising regular financial support for him now that Idris had become the High Magister of Arcane. Jeric found jobs and pulled together the reserves he had made over two years of doing little. After a couple of months, he had the money for a rifle and the ammunition for it. The Grand Academy had all sorts of facilities and he managed to make use of the tools in the Magitech department to craft his mask, paying off a student there just to get his help. He joined the Academy’s shooting society, picking the brains of its best members for advice. He ventured down to the Rift when he was prepared to find the crew of hitmen. He succeeded. The Rift Stalkers, as they called themselves, were looking for new members. Jeric, in the guise of Exitus, looked apt for the part. He would take several contracts from them in the time before being forced to run away from New Haven. None of them what he was looking for, from the people he was looking for. The first kill was the hardest. He was shocked, even a little horrified by what he had done, but he forced himself to remember why he was doing this, and he could hardly complain of the money. His coin purse grew and grew and Jeric became ever more practiced. His magical education went to hell in this time. He had ensured to finish his portal theorem, a practical choice to allow him to get even with more experienced and skilled killers, but the Metamagic and Enchantment theories were being developed slowly. He would spend hours on a contract, picking the right moment to take the shot and end his target’s life. Sometimes they were easy, others put up a fight. During one contract, he got into a shootout with his target. The man was the manager of a foundry belonging to one of the many Magitech companies and was guarded well. After eliminating the target through the window of his office, he took a bullet to the head from a rifle belonging to one of the guards. He fell back to the ground in agony, but clenched a fist and picked up his rifle again. Revenge was taken, and he stumbled back to the Rift Stalkers. He was given his paycheck, and he found his way to a private medical service. The money from that contract went straight into replacing his eye. It was shortly after this that Jeric fled New Haven after killing off one of the Magisters. Before he left, he returned home in the middle of the night to bid his brother farewell, and to warn him to perfect his magical skills to defend himself. Afterwards, he took the last train to Erradan to find a new life in its criminal underworld. With experience and money under his belt, he would ascend the ranks of the city's criminals and become the greatest assassin of all. Alone. For he was all that he needed. Skills and Abilities Jeric is a skilled marksman, his technique honed by years of practice since his short time in the Grand Academy. Hand him a weapon, and he will quickly take its measure and adapt to its use. He knows a little of melee combat, though he is hardly as proficient, having chosen to resolve matters from a distance. Most of what little he knows went into practicing knifework for emergencies. Beyond that, he trained himself to be proficient in a variety of skills necessary for the discerning assassin. He can climb, pick locks and move silently with consummate grace, as well as pick out his targets and openings to strike. Before he chose to become a killer for hire, Jeric was a student, and his Arcane knowledge cannot be overlooked. He boasts a robust understanding of magic through his studies as a child and a young man, and has been constantly adapting current theories of magic to suit his needs. So far, Jeric has developed the following magical techniques: Portal Creation This is Jeric's first and most indispensable technique. By manipulating the forces of the world, Jeric tears two holes in reality and creates a link between the two. Energy which passes through one side of the portal will pass through the other, allowing him an unparalleled advantage in combat. By creating firing angles where once there were none, Jeric can strike from the shadows, leaving his opponents nowhere to hide. Counterspell Metamagic manipulation of spells is not an original technique, but it is a brutally practical one. During his time in New Haven, he found that opponents' magic could present a problem during assassinations. By being able to prevent spells from being cast successfully, magic users are left with naught but the despair of their power failing them as they die. Slow Time This is one of Jeric's later developments in magic. He lacks the requisite knowledge of the area of magic in which he can improve his own speed or endurance. In an attempt to get around this, he found a far more deadly talent. By warping the essence of time around him, the world itself is slowed. In this time, Jeric can thoroughly study a situation and bring about his ideal result from it, or simply deliver more deadly damage. Enchanting Enchanting is a useful technique, especially when combined with the right magic. By loading up rounds with Metamagic inscriptions, he can hurt spellcasters while ensuring that their greatest techniques fail them. More than that, with his development of his time manipulation theory, he is investigating possibilities that will allow him to use the inexorable march of time itself as a weapon against his targets. None of this would matter of course, without Jeric's greatest asset: His mind. Jeric is quick-thinking and creative, using tactics and manoeuvres that almost none could predict to achieve his objectives, as well as deploying more traditional strategies. His ability to improvise has saved his life, and secured him kills that he would never have otherwise managed. The mind behind the killer instincts is what will drive Exitus to be a truly great assassin. Trivia * Jeric's forename name is borrowed from the villain Jerec from Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. The surname Arcastrian was completely made up. * The original concept of Jeric's character was a combination of a Vindicaire Assassin from Warhammer 40,000, Corvo Attano from Dishonored, and the Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya from Fate/Zero. The design of Jeric's mask and choice of weapon are inspired by the Vindicaire Assassin, the use of a mask and the highly mobile pseudo-teleportation ability is derived from Corvo, and the ruthlessly efficient, highly versatile and anti-mage operating style are inspired by Kiritsugu.